Canadian Solar sells Oro-Medonte solar power plant to BlackRock

Canadian Solar Solutions has signed an agreement with a fund managed by BlackRock to sell its 10MW AC Oro-Medonte solar power plant in Ontario, to BlackRock.

The deal was made at a price comparable to other recent project sales completed by Canadian Solar on a per MW basis in the Ontario market.

Oro-Medonte plant is said to be the fourth utility-scale solar power plant in the region and work on the plant will begin in the first quarter of 2014.

Canadian Solar has agreed to provide engineering, procurement and construction services on a turnkey basis to complete the project, and also operations and maintenance services after completion.

The power plant, which would begin commercial operation in the third quarter of 2014, will provide enough electricity to power approximately 1,339 homes under a 20-year contract with the Ontario Power Authority.

To be equipped with about 38,763 Canadian Solar CS6X high-performance modules, the plant would create over 150 new jobs during the development and construction stage.

Canadian Solar chairman and CEO Shawn Qu said the company is glad to partner with BlackRock for developing four solar power plants in Ontario.

"As we look to the future, our backlog of contracted and late-state projects in Canada, Japan, the U.S. and China, gives us good visibility into our results for 2014 and beyond," Qu added.